David Lindsay-Abaire
| birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | residence = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | occupation = Playwright, lyricist, Screenwriter | education = Sarah Lawrence College Juilliard School | notableworks = Fuddy Meers Kimberly Akimbo Rabbit Hole ''Good People'' (play) | spouse = Christine Lindsay-Abaire | awards = }} David Lindsay-Abaire (born November 30, 1969) is an American playwright, lyricist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play Rabbit Hole, which also earned several Tony Award nominations. Early life and education David Lindsay-Abaire was born David Abaire in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in South Boston. He attended Milton Academy and concentrated in theatre at Sarah Lawrence College, from which he graduated in 1992. He was accepted into the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at the Juilliard School, where he wrote under the tutelage of playwrights Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang from 1996 to 1998. Career Lindsay-Abaire had his first theatrical success with Fuddy Meers, which was workshopped as part of the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in 1998 under Artistic Director Lloyd Richards.David Lindsay-Abaire, Fuddy Meers, Dramatists Play Service Inc,, 2000, , p. 2Lefkowitz, David. "O'Neill Center Playwrights Conference in Full Swing Through Aug. 1" Playbill, July 17, 1998 The play premiered Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club, running from November 2, 1999 to January 2000Jones, Kenneth. "Lindsay-Abaire's New Comedy, 'Fuddy Meers', Opens Nov. 2 at MTC" Playbill, November 2, 1999 and transferred to the Minetta Lane Theatre on January 27, 2000, closing in April 2000 after 16 previews and 78 performances there.Jones, Kenneth. "Off-Broadway's 'Fuddy Meers' Folds, April 16" Playbill, April 16, 2000"'Fuddy Meers' Listing" lortel.org, accessed September 1, 2015 He returned to the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2001 with Wonder of the World, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, about a wife who suddenly leaves her husband and hops a bus to Niagara Falls in search of freedom, enlightenment, and the meaning of life.[http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=49 "Wonder of the World Listing"] lortel.org, accessed September 1, 2015Jones, Kenneth and Simonson, Robert. "Sarah Jessica Parker Beholds 'Wonder of the World', Opening in NYC Nov. 1" Playbill, November 1, 2001 Lindsay-Abaire also wrote Kimberly Akimbo (2000), Dotting and Dashing (1999), Snow Angel (1999), and A Devil Inside (Off-Broadway, 1997).Bruckner, D. J. R. "Theater in Review" The New York Times, January 23, 1997 Among his early short plays, he wrote The Li'l Plays (1997-1999) which are five comedic plays, each 10–15 minutes in length.Bryer, Jackson R. and Hartig, Mary C. "Lindsay-Abaire, David (1969-)", The Facts on File Companion to American Drama, Infobase Publishing, 2010, , p. 313 His play Rabbit Hole premiered in 2006 on Broadway with Cynthia Nixon, Tyne Daly, and John Slattery," 'Rabbit Hole' Listing" ibdb, accessed September 1, 2015 and won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama."Pulitzer Prize Winner, Drama, 2007" pulitzer.org, accessed September 1, 2015 It was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, as well as other Tony awards, and Cynthia Nixon won the 2006 Tony Award as Best Actress."Just the Facts: List of 2006 Tony Award Winners and Nominees" Playbill. June 11, 2006 He wrote the book for the musical High Fidelity, which ran on Broadway in December 2006. "'High Fidelity' Broadway Production" playbillvault.com, accessed October 20, 2015 He wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Shrek the Musical which ran on Broadway from November 8, 2008 (previews) to January 3, 2010, with Lindsay-Abaire receiving a 2009 Tony Award nomination for Book of a Musical'"Shrek the Musical" Broadway Production" playbillvault.com, accessed October 20, 2015 and in the West End in May 2011.Shenton, Mark. "'Shrek the Musical' Begins Performances at West End's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane May 6" , Playbill, May 6, 2011 The musical ran for 441 performances on Broadway. Good People officially opened on Broadway on March 3, 2011, with Frances McDormand and Tate Donovan in the lead roles. The play was nominated for the 2011 Tony Award, Best Play and won the 2011 Tony Award, Actress in a Play for McDormand.'"Good PeopleLisa. " Broadway Production" playbillvault.com, accessed October 20, 2015 His play Ripcord opened Off-Broadway on October 20, 2015 at the Manhattan Theatre Club in a limited engagement. Directed by David Hyde Pierce, the cast features Marylouise Burke, Rachel Dratch, Glenn Fitzgerald, and Holland Taylor. The play focuses on two roommates in a retirement home, who according to Variety "devise dirty tricks...to torment one another.""Review Roundup: David Lindsay-Abaire's RIPCORD Opens Off-Broadway" broadwayworld.com, October 20, 2015 Among his influences, Lindsay-Abaire said: "I love Chris’s Durang work. And I don’t think there’s been a piece written about me that hasn’t mentioned the fact that he and I live in the same world. But I think I’ve also been influenced by John Guare and Tina Howe and older folks like Feydeau and Ionesco and Joe Orton."Wren, Celia. "'Fuddy Meers'. Lost in the Funhouse. An Interview with the playwright" Originally published in American Theatre magazine (July/August 2000), accessed September 1, 2015 Lindsay-Abaire has received commissions from Dance Theater Workshop and the Jerome Foundation. He has received awards from the Berilla Kerr Foundation, the Lincoln Center LeComte du Nuoy Fund, Mixed Blood Theater, Primary Stages, the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, the Tennessee Williams/ New Orleans Literary Festival, and the South Carolina Playwrights Festival. Film Lindsay-Abaire has written six screenplays: Robots (2005), Inkheart (2008), and Poltergeist (2015).[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029360/ Poltergeist] imdb He wrote the screenplay of the 2010 film adaptation of his play Rabbit Hole, in which Nicole Kidman starred. She produced the film, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was well received.Kilday, Greg. "Lionsgate takes trip down 'Rabbit Hole'" The Hollywood Reporter, September 16, 2010 He wrote the screenplay for DreamWorks Animation, titled Rise of the Guardians (2012), based on a story by co-director William Joyce. He co-wrote the screenplay for Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).Kennedy, Lisa. "Movie review: 'Oz the Great and Powerful' more amusing than great" Denver Post, March 8, 2013 Personal life Lindsay-Abaire and his wife Christine live in Brooklyn, New York. In 2016, Lindsay-Abaire was named co-director of Juilliard's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. Theatre works (selected) * A Devil Inside—1997, Off-Broadway * Fuddy Meers -- 1999, Off-Broadway * ''Snow Angel -- 1999, Regional * Kimberly Akimbo -- 2000, Off-Broadway * Wonder of the World -- 2001, Off-Broadway * Rabbit Hole -- 2006, Broadway * High Fidelity -- 2006, Broadway * Shrek the Musical -- 2008, Broadway * Good People -- 2011, Broadway * Ripcord -- 2015, Off-Broadway References External links * * * Category:1969 births Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:Living people Category:Milton Academy alumni Category:Writers from Boston Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Category:Sarah Lawrence College alumni Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:American male screenwriters Category:American male dramatists and playwrights Category:Animation screenwriters Category:People from South Boston Category:20th-century American male writers Category:Screenwriters from Massachusetts Category:People from Brooklyn